Combat Status
Statuses in Combat There are a number of conditions one can fall victim to in combat. Death The character has died. This occurs by being brought to 0 HD. A dead character can only be resurrected through magic or divine intervention. Unconsciousness The character has fallen unconscious. This occurs when Clarity is reduced to 0. Characters who are rendered unconscious are alive, but cannot defend themselves and are not aware of their surroundings. A character can regain consciousness by making a success on an Energy check; this check can be attempted once per round. Characters who regain consciousness in this way will only have 10 Clarity out of their normal maximum. Incapacitation Similar to unconsciousness, being incapacitated is a special status that prevents a character from defending themselves, but allows them to remain aware of their surroundings. This typically occurs when a character has been crippled, but not killed. Can be fixed through medical treatment or healing magic. Restrained Being restrained is similar to being incapacitated; it typically occurs when a character is bound or held in some way that restricts their movement. It need not be an entire-body restraint; penalties should be considered depending on the type of restraint. For instance, a handcuffed character may receive a penalty on rolls requiring manual dexterity; one who has been snared by the leg may receive a penalty on Evasion checks. Typically, a full-body restraint will prevent characters from defending themselves. Fatigue A character becomes fatigued through excessive exertion. This results in a -3 to Strength and Coordination, and a -1 penalty to Power and Agility. Fatigue wears off once the character makes an Exceptional Success on an Energy check; this check may be made once per round. Fallen A character who has fallen is lying on the ground, supine or pronate, often as a result of being knocked down by an opponent. While defense is possible while fallen, all melee attack actions and archery without the use of a crossbow are at a -2 penalty. However, the stability granted by lying pronate grants a +1 bonus to Archery when using a crossbow, and a +1 bonus to Firearms. Standing up from a fallen position requires a movement action. Stunned A stunned character may only make a movement action or an attack action on their next turn, of the stunned character's choice, but cannot perform both. Characters who are stunned receive a -1 penalty to all linked attributes for their next turn, and movement speed is reduced by 10'. If the character should be stunned more than once, the penalties to linked attributes and movement speed stack. Wounded A wound is inflicted when a character takes damage, but fails their HD check. A wound causes a cumulative -2 penalty to STR and COO (to a minimum of 1 each) that can only be fixed by medical attention. Bleeding A character who is bleeding loses 1 point of VIT per round until medical attention is received. Fear When a character is under the effects of fear, they take a -1 die penalty when attacking whatever is the source of their fear. Fear will wear off as soon as the character can succeed at a Will check. Terror A more pronounced form of fear, terror causes a -2 penalty to all attack rolls on the source of the character's terror; additionally, when within 10' of its source, affected characters must succeed at a Will check or flee. Terror wears off when the character succeeds at a Will check; if the character can make an Exceptional Success or greater at this check, they will get a +1 bonus to all attack rolls against this opponent out of a desire to prove themselves in combat. Flat-Footed A flat-footed character is one who has been caught unaware in combat. This primarily applies to combatants who are being attacked during their opponents' surprise round. A flat-footed character receives a -1 penalty to all linked attributes, and cannot defend themselves. Combat Modifiers Various situations in combat can create positive or negative modifiers on any or all combatants' skill checks. Some examples include: *Using two weapons without the Ambidextry trait. This causes all weapon checks made with the offhand weapon to be made at a -3 penalty, and all weapon checks with the primary weapon are made at a -1 penalty. This does not apply to unarmed attacks. *Partial concealment, such as fighting in a heavy storm, or firing from behind cover. This causes a -1 penalty to anyone attacking the concealed character. *Total concealment, such as a thick smoke grenade, invisibility, or attacking from an unknown location. This causes a -4 penalty to anyone attacking the concealed character. *Low light, such as candlelight, torchlight, or starlight. This causes a -1 penalty to all attack rolls made by combatants without a low-light vision ability of some sort. *Darkness, such as a darkened room, magical darkness, or blindness. This causes a -4 penalty to all attack rolls by affected combatants. **'Note': illumination penalties for low light and darkness are negated when attacking an illuminated opponent, such as a scout carrying a torch, or a mage with bioluminescence. *Being caught flat-footed or unaware incurs a -1 penalty to all linked attributes, and prevents the affected combatant from defending themselves. *Being attacked from multiple sides incurs a -1 penalty to defense rolls and Will. Category:Rules Category:Combat